Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

There has been a rumor going around that Maker's Mark, due to its tight supplies, is discontinuing everything except the 750 ml and 1 L sizes. I knew that couldn't be true when I heard it, but figured the problem that fostered the ill-fated proof cut hadn't gone away, so there might be something behind it. I did some checking and here's the scoop. Availability of the 1.75 L size will be extremely limited. Stores may run out. At least for now, that should allow them to fill most orders for the other sizes.

Re: Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

Originally Posted by cowdery

There has been a rumor going around that Maker's Mark, due to its tight supplies, is discontinuing everything except the 750 ml and 1 L sizes. I knew that couldn't be true when I heard it, but figured the problem that fostered the ill-fated proof cut hadn't gone away, so there might be something behind it. I did some checking and here's the scoop. Availability of the 1.75 L size will be extremely limited. Stores may run out. At least for now, that should allow them to fill most orders for the other sizes.

Here's another opportunity for Heavenhill and Sazerac to pump out 10,000 POP cardboard displays of Parker Beam and William Weller holding Larceny and OWA, cheshire cat grins on their faces and a sound chip set to go off every time a customer walks past Makers Mark that startles them with "Well me, first they lower proof, now they're running out. Why don't you try Larceny, better taste, and $10 less."

Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

It's not clear to me how not bottling 1.75s will alleviate the MM shortage. Won't the dedicated MM drinker who is accustomed to family size bottles just switch to a smaller size and grumble about the extra cost?

Re: Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

Originally Posted by HighInTheMtns

It's not clear to me how not bottling 1.75s will alleviate the MM shortage. Won't the dedicated MM drinker who is accustomed to family size bottles just switch to a smaller size and grumble about the extra cost?

I would imagine the goal is to have product on shelf in as many locations (retail, on-prem) as possible, so cutting out or restricting the 1.75 would allow just that... maximize availability.

Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

I would imagine the goal is to have product on shelf in as many locations (retail, on-prem) as possible, so cutting out or restricting the 1.75 would allow just that... maximize availability.

I think the goal is to sell the bourbon they have in more expensive containers. Not necessarily a criticism, plenty of things don't come in 1.75s, but this move doesn't cause them to have more bourbon.

Re: Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

Originally Posted by HighInTheMtns

I think the goal is to sell the bourbon they have in more expensive containers. Not necessarily a criticism, plenty of things don't come in 1.75s, but this move doesn't cause them to have more bourbon.

Not more bourbon, but bourbon in more places. I agree that it could just be a way to collect more revenue for the same amount of product, but the timing suggests it has more to do with keeping (and expanding) MM on every grocery store, liquor store, bar and restaurant shelf.

Re: Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

The screaming and yelling that is a problem isn't the screaming and yelling of consumers, it's customers--distributors, bars, liquor stores--to whom Beam sells a lot of other products too. That's who they're trying to keep happy. Yes, everybody makes more money from the smaller sizes, so it makes sense to take the pain out of the size that's the best value. People can piss and moan about the consumer getting screwed and all that, but it's a business, and they're trying to be smart business people. It was explained to me that it just takes a heck of a lot of product when they bottle 1.75s. The math is simple. They can put more small bottles out there than big ones.

Where I think we can do with a little more honesty here is that Maker's got caught playing the scarcity game, because a little bit of scarcity can be a good thing. They did actually cut back a little bit on production, being careful not to exceed demand, keeping it just a little tight. Let's say they were able to supply customers with 90% of what the customers wanted. Customers might grumble a little, but as long as they're getting their fair share, they can live with that. Now let's say there's a demand surge and they're only able to accommodate 75% of what customers want? I don't know what the actual numbers are, but that's what happened. They were trying to engineer in a little bit of scarcity to support the price and image, and not be pressured into dealing, then demand took off unexpectedly and they got caught with their pants down. They got way more scarcity than they bargained for.

Because of their long term vision for Maker's, they don't want to raise the price and send people to the competition. That's why there's probably not an opportunity for Larceny and Weller, because they're doing what they can to take care of folks, at the current price, with what they hope will be a temporary problem, although 'temporary' in this business can be a couple years.

If you usually buy the 1.75 and can't get it, you might buy two 750s, but you might only buy one. In that case, you probably won't look for an alternative. If you go to the store and there is no MM to be had at all, then you'll buy something else. By keeping MM on the shelf, they're making sure most folks won't look for an alternative.

Because they made some production adjustments a couple years back, they found themselves in a trough at exactly the wrong time. Each quarter will probably see a little more availability and hopefully they can work through this. Maker's drinkers are tremendously loyal. They've shown what they won't tolerate, changing the product. Now MM is banking that what they will give the brand is a little more time.

Re: Maker's Mark 1.75 L Size on Allocation

my two cents.

WHat they need to do is somehow figure out a better way to allocate the product to where it needs to go, which means, who is selling a lot of that size.

Case in point, I walk into my local Costco, and I see the same pallet of 1.75's sitting there that always sits there. Do they move product, sure they do. Do they move a pallet's worth, I don't think so. Nor the overstock sitting elsewhere.

Put the product to where the markets moves it, not who buys the most a lets it sit.

B

"Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die."